Shocking footage circulating on social media shows the father of an 11-year-old Staten Island boy forcing his son to fight another child. The video has since led to a child welfare investigation.
In the video, the father instructs the fifth-grader to continue fighting the boy, even after his son tried to walk away from the fight.
"Punch him in the face," the man ordered. After his son hits the boy, the father praised him.
"There you go," he said.
The son tried to walk away after that punch, but his father told him to come back.
"Do it again. No, no, no. Turn around, come here... do it again, go ahead," the dad said.
The two boys exchanged blows and grappled on the ground with several people coaching and cheering around them.
The fight took place outside of Alice Austen P.S. 60 on Staten Island on May 14, and word of the video spread quickly after it was uploaded to Facebook.
"I heard about it through the school," one student told PIX 11 on Thursday. "It's been spreading everywhere."
P.S. 60 parents, some of whom found out about the video from the media, said the school should have notified them of the incident.
"The school should have reached out to the parents and let them know that this type of behavior is not acceptable," one father told Fox 5.
"I have not seen a letter come from the school stating about the incident."
The Department of Education said the fight took place after school hours, and is being investigated.
"We take this matter very seriously and continue to work closely with the school community as the principal investigates this matter," a statement read.
"The principal has met the student and his parent and there will be swift and appropriate disciplinary action."
Fox 5 reported that the NYC Administration for Children's Services launched an investigation after receiving an anonymous tip that "something wasn't quite right" at the fifth-grader's home.
The NYPD is also considering filing charges against the father.
